Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Littleborough:

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Any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Littleborough, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Questions and Answers: Littleborough leasehold conveyancing

My partner and I may need to rent out our Littleborough garden flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Littleborough conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

The lease governs the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will set out if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Littleborough do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

There are only Fifty years remaining on my lease in Littleborough. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Littleborough.

I’m about to sell my basement flat in Littleborough.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a quarterly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I've found a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Littleborough. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Littleborough are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Littleborough so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Littleborough conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will advise you fully on all the issues.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Littleborough with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Littleborough can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers conveyancers.
  • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Littleborough charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Littleborough.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy process and frustrates many a Littleborough home move. If a duplicate share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • I am the registered owner of a leasehold flat in Littleborough, conveyancing formalities finalised 2003. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Similar flats in Littleborough with over 90 years remaining are worth £205,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2103

    With only 79 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 plus legals.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Littleborough